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Prior to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan had generated 30% of its electrical power from nuclear reactors and planned to increase that share to 40%. Nuclear power energy was a national strategic priority in Japan. As of May 2018, there are 42 operable reactors in Japan. Of these, 8 reactors in 5 power plants are operating.Though all of Japan's nuclear reactors successfully withstood shaking from the Tohoku earthquake, flooding from the ensuing tsunami caused the failure of cooling systems at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on 11 March 2011. Japan's first-ever nuclear emergency was declared, and 140,000 residents within 20 km of the plant were evacuated. A comprehensive assessment by international experts on the health risks associated with the Fukushima I nuclear power plant disaster concluded in 2013 that, for the general population inside and outside Japan, the predicted risks were low and no observable increases in cancer rates above baseline rates were anticipated. All Japan's nuclear plants were closed, or their operations suspended for safety inspections. The last of Japan's fifty reactors went offline for maintenance on 5 May 2012, leaving Japan completely without nuclear-produced electrical power for the first time since 1970. Problems in stabilizing the triple reactor meltdowns at Fukushima I nuclear plant hardened attitudes to nuclear power. In June 2011, more than 80 percent of Japanese said they were anti-nuclear and distrusted government information on radiation. By October 2011, there had been electricity shortages, but Japan survived the summer without the extensive blackouts that some had predicted. An energy white paper, approved by the Japanese Cabinet in October 2011, stated that Public confidence in safety of nuclear power was greatly damaged by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and called for a reduction in the nation’s reliance on nuclear power.Despite protests, on 1 July 2012 unit 3 of the Ōi Nuclear Power Plant was restarted. In September 2013, Ōi units 3 and 4 went offline, making Japan again completely without nuclear-produced electrical power. On August 11, 2015, the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant was brought back online, followed by two units of the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant on January 29, 2016. However, Unit 4 was shut down three days after restart due to an internal failure and Unit 3 in March 2016 after district court in Shiga prefecture issued an injunction to halt operation of Takahama Nuclear Power Plant. Though 43 of Japan's pre-2011 total of 54 plants remain idled, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in 2017 that if the country is to meet its obligations under the Paris climate accord, then nuclear energy needs to make up between 20-22% of the nation's portfolio mix. 26 restart applications are now pending with an estimated 12 units to come back in service by 2025 and 18 by 2030.
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